Money Saving Tips for Real Estate Brokers

Source: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/money-saving-ideas-real-estate-brokers-7121.html

During slow real estate markets, brokers have to make whatever changes they can to save money. When home sales are down, real estate brokerages earn fewer dollars. Spending less, then, becomes an important way to protect the bottom line of real estate companies. The good news is that brokers can take several steps to save money.

Flexible Work Force

Thanks to smartphones, laptop computers, email and fax machines, real estate agents have to spend less time in their offices. Brokers should encourage this. Brokers can take advantage of this flexible work force, which spends most of its time out of the office, by reducing the amount of equipment they stock in their offices. Instead of installing costly computers at every desk, brokers can install just three for the entire office. Instead of providing work stations and work areas for every real estate agent, brokers can provide just five work stations. This works because most agents–at least the successful ones–are spending most of their time showing homes to clients, attending broker open houses or helping their sellers get their homes in showing condition.

Smaller Offices

Because technology has allowed real estate agents to conduct most of their business from coffee shops or their cars, brokers can now rent smaller offices for far less money. They also don’t have to worry as much about finding an ideal, but more costly, location for these offices. Most home sellers and buyers today find their real estate agents online. Few of them walk into a real estate office and ask to speak to an agent. Again, this gives brokers the opportunity to downsize to smaller, more affordable offices. The yearly savings in rents can add up.

Smaller Support Staff

Brokers looking to cut significant costs from their businesses should look carefully at the number of support staffers they employ. They might not need an office manager if most agents are working outside the office. Brokers might not even need receptionists to answer the phones. A growing number of buyers and sellers contact real estate agents directly through email and cell phones. They rarely call the office directly. To handle the dwindling number of calls that do come into real estate brokerages, brokers can assign their real estate agents specific times during the week when they have to staff the office. This will cost brokers far less than hiring full-time receptionists or office managers.