Freddie Ortega
Broker
Realty ONE Group Strong
Bakersfield, Calif.
Region Served: Kent, Tulare, Fresno and Los Angeles counties
Years in Real Estate: 13
Number of Offices: 2
Number of Agents: 130
Why did you decide to transition from an independent office to Realty ONE Group?
I saw the writing on the wall. My agents needed a lot more resources that we, as an independent, couldn’t provide.
What results have you seen thus far from the transition?
I saw results immediately—just the positive energy, the “COOLture” that was built here in the office.
How does Realty ONE Group make its agents’ jobs easier?
The technology. The ultimate goal of Realty ONE Group is for agents to make MORE money, faster and easier. And how are we going to do that? By getting technology in front of our agents. If we use it the right way, it can help us tremendously. Instead of working harder, we are working smarter. Realty ONE Group has created the technology and apps so that we can work from the convenience of our phones now. We can do certain things we weren’t able to do before.
What is one of the challenges your market faces, and what are you doing to overcome it?
One of the challenges here in this area is discount brokerages, which are providing little to no services to their clients—to the consumers. We overcome, or counter, that by providing a flat rate for full service to the consumer. We are able to provide all the services to our agents, and, in turn, they can pass that along and provide great service to their clients. By charging a reasonable flat rate to our agents, they’re able to stay competitive and still provide full services.
What factor has the largest influence on the real estate industry today?
Social media, hands down, is something that is going to continue to evolve, and there’s going to be more social media platforms that we, as agents and as a company, are going to be able to use to advertise and get our name out there. I love that about Realty ONE Group—they’re at the forefront of it. They understand how social media and agents are connected at the hip, and it’s not going to stop. Social media has the ability to make our jobs so much easier if we understand how to use it the right way.
How are you staying competitive in an industry being flooded by disruptors?
I feel as though we are the disruptor in the industry now. We are going to continue to do what we are doing. We are very creative, and our creativity is going to help keep us at that level of being an industry disruptor. I think that’s what is going to separate us from everyone else.
For more information, please visit www.realtyonegroup.com.
Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at ldominguez@rismedia.com.
