Business

<< Previous   of   Next >> Michael O'Leary / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Real estate agent Randy Hill is working a second job in the shipping and receiving department at the Tulalip Casino to supplement his income.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, November 23, 2008 As the housing market crashes, Realtors must find second jobs By Christina Harper Special to The Herald When Randy Hill became a real estate agent four years ago, there was plenty of business to go around. Hill, of Marysville, focused primarily on new construction sites in Stanwood, Marysville and Lynnwood for Timberland Realty Group. "I was selling steadily," Hill said. "Things were very good. They were good all the way up to the first of this year." But 2008 brought a drop in sales for Hill and others in the business. Hill had been selling 60 to 65 homes per year. In the past six months, he has sold just two. Earlier this year Hill wondered if he could keep up with his bills and began to think about other ways to bring home a paycheck. "I started looking at the reality of it," Hill said. "I was looking at my finances and needed to start looking for a primary or secondary job." Hill took a full-time position in receiving at the Tulalip Casino Resort and Hotel but is still able to do real estate on the side. The troubled economy, coupled with a traditionally slower season for real estate, means that some agents are looking for other work, said Nathan Gorton, executive officer at the Snohomish County Camano Association of Realtors. "This is the time when we see agents do this sort of thing," Gorton said. "The past couple of months nobody was thinking about buying a house because of the election." Many of the agents that Gorton talks to are optimistic about the future. He expects a lot of them to come back and practice real estate after the Super Bowl. But some of the newer agents are worried about their futures in the industry. "Something like 40 percent have been practicing for five years or less," Gorton said. "Real estate is a cycle. They haven't experienced it yet." The attitude toward getting a second job is not the same at every real estate office. Agents at larger firms such as Windermere Real Estate need to find other ways to weather the real estate storm. It's not so much a rule as a philosophy that Windermere agents don't take other jobs, said Lena Maul, broker and owner at the Lynnwood office. "One thing that Windermere tries to do is put the client first," Maul said. "Having a full or part time job doesn't put the client first." Although many agents think they can hold down a job and sell real estate, they need to be prepared and available to buyers and sellers at any time, Maul said. "We're not in the side money business," she said. "We're building our company with full-time, full-service agents." Maul counsels potential agents who still have other jobs but want to work full-time in real estate, giving them 60 to 90 days to make the transition. The goal is to have productive, thoughtful and hardworking people. The perception that real estate agents have less to do during down times isn't true, Maul said. The reality is that they have to be on top of what's happening in the business and work it more. "When it's flowing it's easy on everybody," Maul said. Hill, Gorton and Maul believe that the real estate market will pick up. "It's just a matter of being patient for it to happen," Hill said. Hill plans to wait and see what happens. He enjoys his new job but is staying in real estate. Having a game plan and saving money for hard times are good goals for real estate agents to have, he said. "The two biggest things," Hill said. "Patience and perseverance." Christina Harper is a Snohomish County freelance writer. She can be reached at harper@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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