The local real-estate industry is feeling the pain as the sub-prime mortgage meltdown finally hits the Puget Sound region, and loans for buyers and builders have become harder to find.
But the recent closing of the John L. Scott office in Magnolia Village has really brought the point home to longtime Magnolia real-estate agent Melanie Smith. "I've been working in that office for 18 straight years," she said. "It came as a surprise to us," Smith said of herself and the eight other agents in the office.
Actually, the writing was on the wall around a year ago when the agents at the Magnolia office were asked to relocate their licenses to a North Seattle John L. Scott office, Smith conceded. Agents - who operate as independent contractors - could still go into the Magnolia office and use the equipment, but the managing broker they work for was still in the North Seattle office, she added.
Smith conceded that having the office close won't make much difference to how she does business. "I moved primarily to a home office 15 years ago," Smith said. Good agents never hung around the office much in any case, she said.
Still, there was something to be said for having a brick-and-mortar presence to keep the company in the public eye, according to Smith. "We all hoped they would change their mind and keep the office open."
There are more John L. Scott for-sale signs in Magnolia than ever before, but the Magnolia office hasn't been a big money-maker for close to two decades, she said. Smith thinks the office was closed to cut costs.
John L. Scott president Joe Spencer goes even further. The real-estate field is in the crosshairs of a faltering economy, he said. The way consumers buy or sell homes and the way agents and brokers help them do that has changed, according to Spence. "All have contributed to the closing of offices," he said. "The industry is overcapacity."
Two John L. Scott offices in Portland, Ore., have been closed recently, partly due to the market and partly due to the different works styles of the agents there, Spencer said.
The Magnolia office is the only one in Seattle that has been shuttered so far, he said, adding that the Seattle Center office is expected to take up the slack.
That may not be the end of moves to consolidate the real-estate business. "There probably will be a little less brick and mortar," Spencer allowed.
But he stressed that further closures may not have a major impact because the use of online real-estate services has skyrocketed in the last five or six years.
"Seventy-five percent of consumers use online services as a primary function in their home-search process," Spencer said.
Potential buyers and sellers can also interact with real-estate agents over the Internet, and new listings, prices changes, photos and video tours of properties can be found online, as well, he added.
Smith is keeping the faith. "I still support John L. Scott and believe John L. Scott is the best company for me," she said. Still, Smith added, she'll miss giving out candy at the old office during the yearly Halloween celebrations in Magnolia Village.[[In-content Ad]]
