Once in a while our government actually does something right. The bailouts are a complete joke imho. What do they do for the average citizen? Nothing. But the $8000 tax credit being offered to first time home buyers is putting money directly in the pockets of average Americans. And that is a good thing.
We’re hoping that they extend the tax credit into 2010 as it’s our belief that this will have a profound impact on the real estate market moving forward. Depending on where you’re looking in the Colorado Front Range region, the markets are either holding steady or fairly robust. The Louisville real estate market is red hot, and the Boulder real estate market is quite strong. Moving out into places like Aurora and the South Metro area shows a different story. But it’s safe to say that extending the tax credit would help to bring more buyers into all of these markets, reduce inventory, and get us a long way towards economic recovery.
Several “new” real estate models have proven themselves unable to survive long term. BuySide Realty and Iggy’s House come to mind. But just because these discounters fail does not mean that all discount/rebate models will suffer the same fate.
Real-a-Save has been profitable since our first year in 2007. Our business model differs in a number of ways from companies like BuySide/Iggy’s House. One of the main reasons that BuySide/Iggys failed is due to the low-touch nature of their business. Instead of proving that discounters cannot survive, the failure of BuySide/Iggys simply proves that you can’t sacrifice service on your way to big savings. Consumers have way too many choices right now to put up with poor service from a real estate company- or any company for that matter.
Just think of the success of online shoe company Zappos. Why in the world would a shoe retailer have such success? Service, plain and simple.
Take a look at our testimonials and it’s clear that we at Real-a-Save are fanatics about our customer service. Email bob@realasave.com if you have any questions.
So far, Real-a-Save has been providing services in the Denver and Boulder real estate markets, with the occasional deal in Colorado Springs, Summit County, and Fort Collins. But we have received some interest from agents in other states who would like to bring this concept to consumers in their area.
It seems inevitable that the real estate industry will undergo some serious changes over the coming years. I believe that the economic crisis will have a lasting effect on consumers in this country. People seem much more focused on saving money wherever possible. From groceries to gasoline to real estate fees. Our business seems poised to grow in this new economy.
When consumers are given the choice of two relatively similar products where one of those products offers significant savings, which one will they choose? There really is no difference between the services offered by a traditional Realtor and the services offered by Real-a-Save. Sure, we don’t hold open houses for our sellers. And yes, we ask our buyers to do some of the initial searching on their own. But that’s it. We offer an incredible level of service while simultaneously saving consumers thousands of dollars.
Let us know if you’d like to see Real-a-Save in your city or state. Email bob@realasave.com with requests or questions.
The real estate industry is unique in many ways- not all of them good. For example: why are the words “savings”, and “discount” regarding with such disdain in this industry? It seems that almost every other industry rewards the savings monsters within it with great success. Think Walmart, Costco, or any of a number of low-fee stock trading sites like Scottrade, E-trade, etc.
But in the real estate industry companies which give discounts, or operate with reduced-fee models are often ridiculed or labeled as companies which are doomed to failure. “You get what you pay for!”, is a refrain we in the discount real estate industry hear from those in the traditional, full-fee real estate companies. This implies that savings and poor service go hand in hand. Really? Just take one look at the glowing testimonials on this page and you’ll have to think again. Is it so shocking to traditional real estate agents that someone who offers savings to his clients might also take pride in providing excellent service?
This is not a foreign concept to us at Real-a-Save. Full-service, big savings. It’s a simple business model that is working quite well, thank you.
Visitors to the Real-a-Save website can very easily search for Denver homes for sale in close proximity to their school of choice by using the Sketch-a-Map feature. Simply open up the search page and look at the lower left portion of the screen for the Sketch-a-Map icon. This is a tool we’ve developed which allows visitors to draw boundaries right on our map. You can even save multiple “sketches”, each with unique boundaries, in your “Saved Searches” area of the website. Once you draw and save a search, our system will search for new listings in your saved search each morning and will email you when a home pops up on the Denver or Boulder real estate market which fits your criteria. Pretty cool, right? Give it a try here. And remember that Real-a-Save is the Front Range’s best choice for saving money in your next real estate transaction.
So far our business at Real-a-Save is available in Colorado only. Specifically, the Denver and Boulder real estate markets. But we do get a few calls a month from Brokers and investors who are interested in franchising and/or licensing our business model. So why haven’t we offered franchises yet? Well, we’re considering it, but are really taking our time and doing the research. The most important thing is to make sure that our current clients remain satisfied. Every franchise owner I’ve spoken with thus far has advised that it’s extremely important to prove your business model before franchising. It’s also VERY expensive and time consuming to franchise a business. If you or someone you know is interested in bringing Real-a-Save to your market, then shoot me an email at bob@realasave.com and I’ll keep you updated as to our time frame for franchising.
