A few weeks ago, Real Trends came out with their top agents in the US and in each market. In this year's ranking, I ranked #2 in the US and #1 in NY. If you know me well enough, you'll know this doesn't get me pumped because you start this business every morning at zero. So, this is not a blog about my rankings. This is a story about what I noticed afterward.
My phone rang a lot.
Not from friends and family congratulating me but from people across the country I'd never heard from in markets I knew nothing about. People from all over the US asked me to sell their homes or give them tips on how to do so.
Some of my tips are universal: keep your home clean, have beautiful photography without your cat sitting on the toilet seat, keep your description succinct with sentences without typos, etc. For the most part, I told each person that I couldn't help them.
Yes, while one necessary skill of becoming a successful salesperson comes from actually having the ability to sell, an even more critical skill is amassing local knowledge of the area, the neighborhood, the community, the recent sales, the property type, the taxes, the schools, the contractors, the landscapers, the dry cleaner, the best deli, and this list could go on and on. And for this, there are no "Cliff's Notes" or shortcuts. It takes time, effort, attention, and focus. Buyers and sellers don't need the best agent in America to help them or the second best; they need the best in their market for their particular property type.
Real Trends said I am the best agent in New York. This is inaccurate. I am the best agent at selling what I sell: luxury homes and new developments in Manhattan. If a client is looking for a home in Jackson Heights, I call Armen Meschian. Someone needs a place in Harlem; Jen Corcoran is getting a text from me. A shop owner wants a retail space in Soho; I am contacting Julie Johnson immediately.
Why? Because they are the best agents in these markets, bar none. And I know they will be able to serve my clients far better than I ever could on my own. These agents know every building, every owner, the neighborhood trends, the best mortgage lenders for the property, great local contractors, what shops are coming to the neighborhood, which are leaving, where to buy and where not to buy, and a whole host of other details that only an expert would know.
And with this tight real estate market we are in now, a local expert is the best and most likely the only way you are getting a home. So many deals are off-market these days, and the first agents to learn about these opportunities are the top agents in those markets. For instance, if you want to buy a home in Sands Point, NY, Alexis Siegel or Maggie Keats should be your first call. They know every house coming to the market; they understand why the homeowner is selling; they know whether it is a motivated seller or someone just feeling it out. They know what it is going to take to get a deal done.
Except for my apartment in the city, I have used a local agent to represent me in every real estate purchase I have ever made. Top local agents have a wealth of knowledge I could never learn from an RLS or MLS posting. They have far more insight than what is on Zillow or Streeteasy. They walk the streets so they know where all the bodies are buried, all the potential pitfalls, and every single deal out there that can be had.
So, being a top agent in America is kind of a meaningless metric. Even though many agents say they are a "global" or have "national reach," that is just bullshit. Being a highly proficient local expert is not personally scalable. What they do have is the ability to pick up the phone and call the local expert. And yes, while fictional real estate can be streamed around the world or seen on TikTok, the actual business of real estate is and will always remain local.
Let's do this!
Shaun