Creating a team that works well together is no easy feat. In the following interview, Scott Avery of Avery-Hess, REALTORS®, offers insight on staying flexible and fostering a collaborative work environment.
Scott Avery
President
Avery-Hess, REALTORS®, a member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®
Dunn Loring, Va.
Region served: Greater Washington, D.C. Metro Area
Years in real estate: 38
Number of offices: 7
Number of agents: 175
Top tip for staying organized: Utilize Outlook to keep track of recurring commitments and appointments.
Must-have tech tool: My iPad and iPhone.
Describe the current consumer-confidence climate in your area.
Consumer confidence is very good right now, as is the level of job stability within our local market. For a majority of people, asset prices have risen, and home equity has increased.
What factor has the largest influence on the real estate industry today?
Consumers’ unfettered access to information, which is causing real estate professionals to take a careful look at their role in the home-buying and -selling process. It’s not that consumers are smarter today than they were in the past, but their access to information is directly attributable to their asking more questions and finding out more about the real estate process online.
How are you preparing your agents for the future of real estate?
Maintaining relevancy in today’s information age is an important facet of preparing for the future. We develop special interactive learning events focusing on skill sets most relevant to an increasingly complex real estate transaction, while addressing the needs of the consumer for guidance and opinions regarding the plethora of information they access on the Web.
How does your company stay flexible and current?
As technology and marketing continue to evolve, staying flexible and current is all about exposure to new trends and developments, and implementing tools and strategies to increase efficiencies for the consumer. Attending conferences such as our Tampa Palms CEO Exchange Group meetings and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® regional and annual events is always considered part of our intellectual capital. It’s also about embracing the new and fresh approaches our young hires share and recommend that we utilize to make better connections with younger-generation consumers.
What do you like most about the region in which you work?
Not only is the region home for me, it’s also characterized by strong job growth and strong school systems. We’re also very fortunate to have the federal government and numerous consulting and tech companies that have provided a diversified economy.
How do you see your market evolving throughout the next year?
I think we’ll continue to see a strong market and increasing transaction volume, as well as overall strengthening consumer confidence—all of which points to a good housing market moving forward. While prices pushed up over the past few years, they’ve moderated a bit recently. Year-over-year, we’ve seen a 19 percent growth in units and a very small growth in average sales price.
For more information, visit www.averyhess.com.
