Elyse Rosenberg is a Realtor with Elysium Home working in Miami.
Every week, we ask a Miami real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before. This week, we spoke with Elyse Rosenberg, a Realtor associate with Elysium Home.
Miami Agent (MA): A recent study from The George Washington University found that Miami developers were moving towards less suburban sprawl and more walkable urban places, which essentially means places in the city that are accessible by train, bus, bike route or just walking. Have you noticed this trend, and if so, how has it affected your business?
Elyse Rosenberg (ER): Definitely. Clearly we see what’s happening downtown and how development is shifting to cater to buyers who are moving from New York and Latin America, and are not accustomed to driving and having to sit in traffic. They want the lifestyle where they can walk and bike and use public transportation, so we see that shaping development.
On the other hand, you have areas like Sunset Harbor where you see local businesses moving to central business districts to take advantage of the growing foot traffic. Areas are essentially developing to accommodate that lifestyle.
As this becomes more popular, it’s definitely turned into a huge selling point for buyers. Again, that Sunset Harbor area, with all the new businesses coming in it’s become a much more attractive destination.
MA: In a article written earlier this week, we discuss a number of common mistakes sellers make when preparing their homes for sale. For instance, sellers often let their egos get in the way of making deals, refusing offers because they think their property is worth more. What kinds of issues do you run into with sellers, and how do you manage them?
ER: On a grand scale, I’d say patience is a virtue. It’s something that’s always going to happen with sellers, and the best thing to do is make sure your client is very well educated on the market, and part of that is managing expectations. You can’t walk into a client’s house and say, “Oh, this is Versailles, you’re going to get $20 million for this place,” when the reality is much different.
There’s always pushback when you tell sellers the truth of the matter, but you have to be patient, honest and let the market speak for itself. If you’re getting good offers and sellers aren’t taking them, you’ll eventually get to the point where you’re just wasting each others time. Of course, there may be moments where sugar coating something is appropriate, but on the whole, honesty is always the best policy. You can’t mislead, it doesn’t get you anywhere.
MA: As a real estate agent, your job is to represent the client in the homeselling or homebuying process, which means customer service is crucial. What advice would you give to agents about providing high quality customer service?
ER: The most important thing when it comes to customer service is listening. As agents, I think it’s easy for us to get into the mindset of “I know more than you. I know what’s best,” but at the end of the day, everybody has different needs and everybody has different wants. The most important thing that has helped me have happy clients is asking the right questions and actually listening to the answers. Then from there it’s only a matter of finding what they need, or helping to sell their house in whatever particular way.