Sherry Chris on market proofing your real estate business

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with RealTrending. In this episode, Tracey Velt, editorial director at RealTrends, a HousingWire sister company, interviews Sherry Chris, the CEO and president of Realogy Expansion Brands, which includes Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and ERA Real Estate.

During the interview, Chris discusses the one-stop shop brokerage model and some of the things that brokerages can do to help counter margin compression. She also shares how to shield your real estate business in a changing market.

Here is a small preview of the interview, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity:

Tracey Velt:  Years ago, the buzz phrase in real estate was “one-stop shop.” I’m hearing a lot more of the one-stop shop talk lately. It’s just one way to market proof your brokerage, but there are other ways, as well. What would you say?

Sherry Chris: I agree with you. There are many sources of revenue that a broker can take advantage of — mortgage, title, insurance, but also company-generated leads that you’re referring to your agents. Also, think about other services, such as training, coaching, and other services that are revenue opportunities for your agents. And what agents need to realize is that the more they have surrounding them, the higher their productivity will be. It all ties in together.

There are things that we have control over and many things that we don’t. We don’t know when there’s going to be a shift in the market, when COVID buyers are going to diminish and inflation is a worry. But here are some of the things that we’re doing at Realogy, and I’m also suggesting that brokers do as well. Some of these things will help them combat margin compression. The first thing is to pay down any existing debt that you have. Most of us had our best year ever in 2020, and 2021 has definitely shaped up to be, in many cases, an even better year. So that means as a broker owner, you should have cash on hand. Pay down unnecessary debt and get that off of your shoulders.

HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch. If you have a pitch or an inquiry relating to podcasts, you can reach our team at [email protected].