As we move into a slower market, it’s critical to have the support of the best possible real estate company behind you. If you’re not sure that yours delivers and you’re exploring your options, make sure to ask these four questions of any potential new brokerage.
1. Does your brokerage enable you to offer all-inclusive services to your clients—giving you a solid competitive advantage?
People want convenience in everything from their grocery shopping to their real estate transactions. In fact, more than 95% of consumers said they would want to work with a one-stop-shop for their real estate transactions, according to a recent National Association of Realtors study. While many brokerages are scrambling to build the related businesses to make it easier for their clients to buy and sell homes, Long & Foster has been delivering an all-in-one approach to real estate for decades.
We built best-in-class mortgage, title, insurance, inspection, and moving companies that achieve success for tens of thousands of consumers annually, and they do so with impressive results—earning consistent 98% customer satisfaction scores. That means our agents can rest assured that when they and their clients work with our partners, they’ll receive the same high level of service and support that the agent themselves provides.
Most importantly, when you work with our core service partners, your relationships with your clients are protected. We’ll always refer your customers back to you and any ongoing co-marketing will keep you top-of-mind with your clients. No brokerage can guarantee that when they’re working with third parties and outside vendors.
2. What does the brokerage put first—people or profits?
Real estate is a business of relationships. So to succeed, you need a brokerage that’s your true partner. Look for an organization that operates with integrity, keeps strong values, and has a culture that supports you and helps grow your business. To find out if a prospective brokerage has those attributes, talk to their agents—especially those who’ve been there a while.
Wendy Banner of Banner Team Real Estate, a top-producing team in the D.C. region, has spent over 30 years at Long & Foster. When asked why she chose the company, she said, “Long & Foster creates a culture of wanting to assist their agents and putting us ahead.”
Brian Reed, a leading Realtor on the Jersey shore, agreed. “I feel that the company cares…while a lot of other companies are all about recruiting and all about the numbers,” he said.
3. Does your company offer award-winning training?
In 2023, Training magazine, the leading publication for learning and development professionals, named Long & Foster Real Estate to its prestigious list of the world’s top training companies for the year: the Training APEX Awards. Long & Foster not only ranked among some of the business world’s top companies but also is the only residential real estate brokerage honored in this year’s awards.
The award is a testament to the incredible training that’s offered to all Long & Foster agents—both new and accomplished Realtors alike. Plus, unlike some brokerages, the award-winning training is either free or heavily subsidized in cost for all its agents.
“If you listen to the great training and you execute regularly, it’s going to pay off for you,” said Greg Scott, who serves as Long & Foster’s Senior Vice President of Agent Services.
4. How has your company navigated through challenging and shifting markets like today?
Some new entrants to the real estate business have never experienced a moderating market like we’re in today. They have struggled to be profitable even in the boom times, so it remains to be seen if, or how, they’ll weather a more normal market.
For a company with decades of experience like Long & Foster, which has survived numerous ups and downs since its founding in 1968, its financial strength is unquestioned—and that’s a positive for agents and their clients. We don’t just rest on our laurels; rather, we continually innovate and evolve to provide our agents everything they need to be successful in the business and to keep our company and agents competitive in it, too.
As Jabar Baig, one of our leading agents in Reston, Virginia, said, Long & Foster “is constantly moving in the right direction and making the right changes and implementing the tools that help us.”
Eric Stewart of the Eric Stewart Group of Long & Foster in D.C. metro, expanded on Baig’s comments.“Long & Foster provides an excellent, comprehensive system for the agents to have the tools that they need, the support they need, the training they need, and the marketing they need. So if you need something, you want to go with a company like Long & Foster that has it all.”
Find out what Long & Foster could offer to you and your career.