With the way the Niagara Real Estate market has exploded over the past year, it’s not a surprise that more people are joining the ranks of Realtors in St. Catharines. And as we grow in numbers — we are up to over 1,000 Realtors in Niagara — I can’t help but think, it’s time we start working together.
Reciprocity in real estate is something that benefits everyone: The Realtor, who wants to be known for the great properties he or she is showing and promoting; the seller, who gets more exposure as Realtors other than their own advertise their property; and the prospective buyer looking for niche properties. Come on Niagara, it’s time to acknowledge that Real Estate Reciprocity is great for everyone!
What is Reciprocity?
Basically, reciprocity allows Realtors to share their listing with other agents in our local Real Estate Board — in this case, the Niagara Association of Realtors. Basically, it makes sharing the norm and allows all of us to be more flexible in our listings and real estate deals and empowers the area’s Realtors as a whole to be able to provide more to our clients.
Why Reciprocity Matters
At the rate Niagara homes are being listed and scooped up lately, we have to rely on the home buyer to let us know what they want in their Realtor’s services. And, if you ask me, it’s pretty clear. No buyer is interested in spending a lot of time on a website with only one agent’s listings. They want to see it all and they have to see them now. There just isn’t time to wait when they’re looking for listings, if they don’t see it right away, they won’t see it at all.
So, the days of seeing a Realtor’s website bragging about their handful of personal listings is old news. Every month, REALTOR.ca sees millions of unique visitors — people who want to see it all in one go. Wouldn’t we all rather those people land on our own listings that feature not only our personal listings, but those of our fellow Realtors? It just makes sense.
