Jan

20

2008 - A Positive Year for The Jennifer Ames Team

Filed Under News, Real Estate |

Success in Trying Times

Chicago Agent magazine’s “Real Data 2009″ was delivered today. This book is their annual compilation of local residential statistics including top brokerage offices and top-producing agents. Their figures were taken from sales reported to Chicago’s Multiple Listing Service (MRED) from January through November 2008. Their stats are organized by county and include Cook, DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Kane and Will counties.

As with the preceding year, the report for 2008 is a somber one for most agents, but for others, including me, there’s plenty of positive news as well.

Thinning of the Herd

The publisher’s letter in last year’s edition of “Real Data” observed of the real estate agent community that “the strong survived… while the here-today-gone-tomorrow types were weeded out and sent back to their day jobs.” If that was the case for 2007, it was ten times as true in 2008.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the number of real estate agents nationwide climbed steadily for a decade, peaking in 2006. Then, nationwide membership fell by 1.5% in 2007, a small adjustment compared to the 12% drop that occurred in 2008.

Does this mean that the future of professional representation for buyers and sellers of homes is in decline? I don’t believe so, except perhaps for those agents who are unable or unwilling to adjust to our changing world.

Success in Trying Times

While home sales and prices were down across much of the city and country in 2008, the amount of residential property I sold went up.

According to “Real Data 2009,” my 2008 residential sales ranked #5 in all of Cook County, up from #11 the prior year. Each of the four agents who ranked ahead of me works for or represents developers. My Chicago residential real estate business (which I run under the banner of The Jennifer Ames Team at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage) is unique among the city’s top real estate agents, as we only represent individual clients and are not distracted servicing large residential developments or condominium conversions.

According to the Multiple Listing Service, we closed $67.7 million in residential sales in 2007 and $69.4 in 2008 - a 2.5% increase in a year when Chicago home prices and the number of transactions dropped by double digit percentages. Moreover, the average sale price for the homes we sold was up by 23%.

Our Team Strategy

My sales team’s ability to perform consistently, even in the worst real estate market in my 15 year career as an agent, is a testament to our seasoned expertise, tenacity, and a commitment to staying at the forefront of our industry.

In a down year when other real estate agents were cutting expenses, I attended five real estate conferences, including two where I served as a guest speaker. The other two licensed agents on my real estate sales team also attended conferences. Together, we logged over 6,100 miles in 2008 to network among top real estate agents from North America and the world and to learn what we can do to most effectively help our clients buy and sell homes in this challenging economic environment.

In Perspective

All numbers aside, what’s most important to us is the satisfaction of succeeding at a job we all love and helping families move their lives forward.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Chicago and want to tap into my Team’s expertise, give us a call at (312) 440-7525 or email jenny@jenniferames.com.


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