Blue Ridge, Georgia’s Coldwell Banker High Country Realty, sold 49 percent more properties in 2011 than the previous year. The MLS Service, owned by the Northeast Georgia Board of REALTORS®, had increases of 14 percent during the same time period. The Northeast Georgia Board of REALTORS® serves the counties of Fannin, Towns, Union, Gilmer and Pickens in Georgia; Clay and Cherokee in North Carolina; and Bradley, Monroe, and Polk in Tennessee.
CB High Country’s results were reviewed and certified by the firm of Jackie E. Seabolt, CPA, PC. Coldwell Banker has a regional footprint and serves the North Georgia, Southeast Tennessee, and Southwest North Carolina area.
“I knew this was going to be a better year for us. Our increases were even more dramatic than my goals were,” said June Slusser, broker/owner of the highly successful firm.
Slusser is no stranger to success. Since she purchased the firm in 2003, the company expanded its offices from Blue Ridge to three additional locations in Ellijay and Hiawassee, Georgia, and Murphy, North Carolina.
She attributed the increase to the company’s ability to satisfy the consumer’s need for information, and new tools and systems implemented at the beginning of 2011.
“Today’s real estate consumer has demonstrated they have a strong desire to work with real estate firms that are willing and able to supply real time information about real estate. We took the stance that we were going to be the company that provided more knowledge to consumers than anyone else,” she said. We were able to accomplish this goal through a strategic relationship with Norwalk, CT-based RISMedia, best known as the leader in Real Estate Information Systems. Part of that information is delivered to the real estate consumer base by a monthly newsletter created by a full-time team of staff writers.
New technology includes a new website for smart phones, as well as the ability to text property codes. The new mobile website for Coldwell Banker High Country Realty includes GPS so consumers can more easily find the properties in which they’re interested. The technology permits consumers who are passing by a property to text the code to Coldwell Banker in order to receive complete listing information within a few minutes.
CB High Country has also partnered with two companies to offer solutions for consumers. Through OwnAmerica, Coldwell Banker provides offerings for the real estate investor, including a free investor course featured on the website, cbhighcountry.com. Through EquityLock Solutions, Coldwell Banker is able to provide protection for buyers against potential losses in value on their homes in the future.
And because agents are the prime means of educating consumers, agents are constantly informed of real estate conditions and tips through a daily e-mail newsletter. Many of the suggestions included in the newsletter are generated by RISMedia, Slusser noted.
She foresees another positive year for Coldwell Banker High Country in 2012, sparked by new strategies and techniques.
“I expect our increases for 2012 to be even more dramatic than the increases we saw in 2011,” she said.
