Relocation Spotlight: BHGRE Gary Greene
What do relocation clients need the most today? According to Pattie Huey, relocation director for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene, they need a Realtor who is a local expert to help them interpret the market.
This is especially important given the abundance of information that can be found online, which can be overwhelming to someone who is relocating.
During a recent interview, Huey discussed the value that an experienced market professional brings to the process, and why the translation of market data is a key piece of the puzzle.
Following are excerpts from our conversation.
MS: When people move to Houston, what tends to be the No. 1 thing that they hope to find here?
PH: They are looking for a lifestyle that suits them and their families. When people relocate, the universal question is whether they can live the way they want to live. And, because we are a datadriven society, people are driven by information. They can get a lot of that information on their own, but they need a good agent who can help them decipher it. Data is like another language, and in real estate, data needs to be translated into a person’s needs and lifestyle.
MS: Can you give an example of how the agent interprets the data?
PH: When people move to Houston, they sometimes can’t get here as fast as they want to, so they ask to see a video of a home, and tell us that they will make an offer based on the video. But, there is a disconnect for the buyer. The photography and descriptive language might be great, but what that buyer really wants to know is whether that home is positioned in a community that will allow them to can get where they need to go in a timely fashion, that their children will have access to amenities and the right schools, and whether the surrounding area will be aesthetically pleasing. They can look at photos all day long, but they need an agent to interpret for them in a language they can understand.
MS: What type of information is the agent generally interpreting for relocation clients? PH: The buyer needs the agent to translate the dollar value of that specific house, in that community, with those amenities, in that neighborhood, and explain how that compares with other homes in the surrounding areas. The buyer might find that they need to pay a little more, or that they could pay a little less and get all the things that they want. So, the agent has to take all of the buyer’s aesthetic needs and intangibles, and translate them and make them tangible.
We’ve been given a lot more tools, which is great, but those tools are not giving us all of the important sensory aspects. So, the agent takes all of the numbers and information and applies them to this new community for the buyer, which might be much different from the state or country that the client came from.
Taxes and fees might be different, so the agent helps the buyer to put all of the information in terms of their needs, wants, and affordability.
MS: So, what is the best way for relocation clients to get a feel for a home and community?
PH: An agent is there to interpret the data and give the buyer an opportunity to apply their senses to it. This is so critical, because it isn’t just photography, and it isn’t just a house. The buyer has to go and feel that neighborhood and house. They need to see it morning, noon, and night if possible. A good agent will give the buyer ample opportunity to experience the community and the home. Buying a home needs to engage all of the senses, and the brain, because it must click logically too.
MS: What is the best approach for discovering a community that will best fit someone’s lifestyle?
PH: It’s like cooking. When you have a new meal that you’ve never had before, your first bite is going to be a small taste. That’s our approach with people who are coming to Houston for the first time.
We want to give them a taste of Houston based on what they like to do. They might be a runner, a cyclist or a foodie, so we give them a peek at Houston from their perspective before we ever start looking at houses.
Then, we take in more information and we start layering it. We get a sense of what they need for their lifestyle. Then, once we have identified the community, we start looking for that home.